Publications & Testimony

With Utah preparing for its first execution in 14 years, one of the state’s leading newspapers has issued a call not only to spare Taberon Honie, the prisoner set for execution on August 8, 2024, but to end the practice of capital punishment altogether. In a July 25 editorial, the Salt Lake Tribune highlights Mr. Honie’s abusive upbringing and his sincere remorse for the crime, saying his case for clemency “is strong.” The day after the editorial was published, the Utah Board of Pardons and…

In a new analysis, the Death Penalty Information Center has found that executive officials most often cite disproportionate sentencing, possible innocence, and mitigation factors such as intellectual disability or mental illness as reasons to grant clemency in capital cases. Ineffective defense lawyering and official misconduct are also common factors in clemency grants. While present in fewer cases, support for clemency from the victim’s family or a decisionmaker in the original trial, such as…

As Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price seeks to remedy her office’s history of discriminatory jury selection, an study published in the 2024 Journal of Empirical Legal Studies by Catherine M. Grosso, Jeffrey Fagan, and Michael Laurence finds empirical evidence that the race of the defendant and the race of the victim affect the likelihood of a death sentence being imposed in California. “The Influence of the race of defendant and the race of victim on capital charging and sentencing…

This July, in honor of Disability Pride Month, the Death Penalty Information Center is posting a weekly feature highlighting issues related to the death penalty and disability and profiles of individuals who have played key roles in changing the laws to protect prisoners with disabilities. Daryl Atkins (pictured) became a pivotal figure in the American legal landscape in 2002 due to his role as the named prisoner in a landmark Supreme Court case concerning whether those who have intellectual…

On July 18, 2024, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey asked the state Supreme Court to block a scheduled evidentiary hearing for Marcellus Williams and deny him the opportunity to establish his innocence before his scheduled execution on September 24, 2024. The Circuit Court of St. Louis County scheduled the August 21^st hearing to assess the “clear and convincing” evidence of Mr. Williams’ actual innocence that prompted St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell to file a motion to vacate…

Attorneys for Warren King (pictured), who was convicted and sentenced to death in Georgia in 1998 for the murder of a convenience store clerk, have uncovered evidence that shows the prosecutor, John B. Johnson, withheld critical evidence from Mr. King’s defense team at the time of trial. A new court filing indicates that ADA Johnson failed to disclose a plea deal reached with Mr. King’s co-defendant, Walter Smith, the only eyewitness to the crime. Both Mr. King and Mr. Smith were charged with…

Biography: Unwritten by Toby Lee Greenberg highlights the ruined lives of those exonerated from U.S. death rows through an art installation of books. According to a press release from the artist, the installation of empty books at The Gallery at Penn College reflects the “fragile lives wasted and lost within a system” and prompts viewers to “consider the simple moments so often taken for granted.” Each book highlights the life of an exoneree as a biography, including the name of the exoneree…

The state of Texas was scheduled to execute Ruben Gutierrez (pictured) on July 16, 2024; however, the United States Supreme Court issued a rare, last-minute stay of execution just 20 minutes before he was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection. This is the first stay of execution granted by the Supreme Court since it issued a stay for Richard Glossip in 2023. In a petition filed with the Supreme Court, attorneys for Mr. Gutierrez asked the Court to intervene because Texas has denied…

On Thursday, July 18, 2024, the state of Alabama is scheduled to execute Keith Gavin (pictured left) by lethal injection, despite court findings that his trial counsel was ineffective. Mr. Gavin was convicted and sentenced to death in 1999 for the shooting death of a delivery driver. A non-unanimous jury voted 10 – 2 in favor of the death penalty for Mr. Gavin, and the trial court accepted the jury’s sentencing outcome. During the penalty phase of trial, Mr. Gavin’s defense team did not present…

This July, in honor of Disability Pride Month, the Death Penalty Information Center is posting a weekly feature highlighting issues related to the death penalty and disability and profiles of individuals who have played key roles in changing the laws to protect prisoners with disabilities. Distinguished Professor of Law James W. Ellis has spent his career defending the rights of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), including arguing the landmark case Atkins v.